5 Step Process

Step 1 - Discovery

This step is all about understanding you and guiding you through the pros, cons and realities of business ownership to allow you to make an informed decision about pursuing self-employment.

With the support of the X-Forces team, you will be able to discuss: the reasons why self-employment is the route for you, your business idea and what the planning stages will entail. We will provide you with access to various templates, explain the handrail of support, provide information on courses or events available and enrol you onto the next stage of the process.

Step 2 Business Planning

X-Forces breaks down the business plan into easy to understand segments such as: product/service scope, competitive landscape, customer segmentation, survival budgets, financial planning, marketing and risk assessment. Our Business Advisors will guide you through the initial stages of putting your idea into writing.

Our Business Advisors and Trainers have collectively worked with thousands of business plans and will offer objective advice that allows you to articulate your passion into a well-structured plan.

Our training workshops and courses will also take you through our business template one-on-one, and your allocated Business Advisor or Trainer will be on hand at every stage of the process to answer your questions.

Step 3 Reflection

This step is vital to reflect and understand what areas you will need to bridge to make the business as successful as possible. Things to consider include, what areas of support will you need to complement your own skill sets and what tools or networks can support you further to enable you to have the best start you can.

We also know that when starting a business you will need to take all aspects of your life into consideration, including hearing from those that have done it before. Our ambassadors, business owners and online case studies are available for you to start building a network of support in areas that are key for you and your business.

Step 4 Funding and Launch

We will help you to establish the best funding source for your business, and as a Delivery Partner for the Start Up Loans Company we are able to support you in accessing government-backed low interest start up loans.

If you would like to take a different approach our businesses have applied for crowd-funding, scale-up investment and in some cases grants from our partners.
Once you are ready to start running your business, we will be able to promote your launch to our community through our social media, newsletters and blog. Please speak to the team to ensure this has been scheduled in as part of the wider sales and marketing planning.

Step 5 Ongoing Support

You are now part of the X-Forces community, whether you chose to start-up a business, take up an employed role or a combination of both. We have a network of expert mentors across industry sectors that are available to our community to offer knowledge exchange, advice and often reassurance!

Our Blog posts, webinars, newsletters and events will also be available to our community, to: top-up enterprise skills, network and meet like-minded individuals, promote your business and share your story with those that are deciding what their future looks like. As part of our community, we advocate that you will be one of the future role models for new entrepreneurs in the years to come. Please ask one of the X-Forces Team about the X-Forces Community Charter and welcome on board.

Entrepreneurs will follow a 5 step process to startup. Our Business Advisers & Trainers will take you from discovery to business planning to launch. Having defined steps in the approach to support people helps in knowing where they can start.